Terminology
Conditions * Beast, the: The inchoate urges that drive vampires away from'' the Man''. * Blood bond: Artificial love and loyalty spawned by feeding from the same vampire three times. Known formally as a Vinculum. The Dominant member is called a Regent, and the submissive member a Thrall. * Blood sympathy: The mystic link between “related” vampires. * Diablerie (dee • AHB • ler • ee): Kindred “cannibalism”; draining a vampire of its blood and soul. Sometimes called Amaranth. * Embrace, the: The act of turning a mortal into a vampire. * Frenzy: A berserk state when the Beast takes total control over its vampire. Rage, fear and hunger can induce frenzies; when precision is needed, the term is qualified by cause (fear frenzy or hunger frenzy). Unqualified, the term generally indicates frenzy caused the rage. * Final Death: A Kindred’s ultimate death; when they go from being Undead to just Dead. * Man, the: A vampire’s human impulses and self-control. Used to compliment or contrast the Beast. * Torpor: A death-like sleep into which Kindred fall if injured severely or starved for too long. Locations * Barrens: Portions of the city unfit for hunting. Typically, places people don’t go after dark, or which are monitored closely by the police. * Cloister: A city or other large domain that’s “gone dark,” where Kindred can’t (or won’t) communicate in or out. * Domain: A Kindred territory, usually with a single governing authority. Most frequently used to refer to a Kindred city-state, or districts of one. The largest domains stretch across multiple mortal cities. * Elysium (ell • ISS • ee • um): A neutral, "no violence" sanctuary used for Kindred gatherings. * Haven: A vampire’s residence; where one finds sanctuary from the sun. * Rack, the: The best parts of the city in which to find food, including nightclubs and other loud, crowded areas. Organizations * Conclave: An organization of vampires that stretches across multiple cities, but is not a government in and of itself. Sometimes, conclaves are groups of individual, likeminded Kindred. Other times, they are made up of official representatives of multiple domains. * Coterie: A small group of allied Kindred. * Covenant: A faction of Kindred who share certain political or theological beliefs. Some covenants are spread across the world, but they tend to have independent leadership and local variations from domain to domain. * Unaligned: A vampire who claims no membership in any covenant. Also known as an unbound or independent Kindred. Titles (Personal) * Ancilla '''(an • SILL • uh): Kindred who have lasted 50-150 years. Plural - ancillae (an • SILL • ae). * '''Ancient: A rare vampire who has existed for over a millennium. * Avus (AY • vuss): A Kindred' “grandfather” or patron in a bloodline from which she is not truly descended. * Childe '''(CHILD): Kindred “offspring”; also used as a minor insult (akin to calling someone a “kid” in mortal circles). Plural is childer (CHILL • der). * '''Draugr: A vampire who has lost touch with humanity, becoming a mindless beast or uncaring predator. * Damned, the: The Kindred race; vampires. * Elder: a veteran vampire who has survived over 150+ years; a term of respect. * Fledgling: A newly created vampire still under his sire’s protection. * Ghoul: A Vitae fed mortal; possesses various supernatural abilities, though weaker than most vampires. * Kindred: The modern (and most frequent) term which vampires refer to themselves. * Mortal: An ordinary human. * Neonate (NEE • oh • nate): A fledgling vampire released from the sire's protection. * Regnant: The dominant member of a Vinculum. Also called a domitor. * Revenant: A vampire “born” from a spontaneous Embrace. Usually a victim of a vampire who, for unknown reasons, rises after death. If not helped by a Kindred, Revenant's quickly become a Draugr. * Sire: A vampiric “parent,” one who has Embraced a childe; alternatively, a verb, meaning “to Embrace.” * Thrall: One bound to a regnant; the member of a Vinculum who feels artificial devotion to another. Titles (Political) * Harpy: A member of the Kindred elite who possess minor, informal, influence over the All Night Society. * Herald: The Prince's official spokesperson and messenger; they speak on behalf of the Prince. In smaller cities this role is handled by the city's Seneschal. * Hound: The official assassin/ executioner of the Prince. Used to end problems swift and violently. * Poacher: (derogatory) One who feeds in another Kindred’s territory without permission. * Primogen: Members of the Prince's inner circle and council. Typically the leader of each covenant in the city. * Prince: The Vampiric ruler of the city; typically the most powerful kindred in a city. * Priscus: the informal head of the Clan in a city. * Seneschal ('''SEN • eh • Shh • al): Political assistant of the Prince * '''Sheriff: The Vampire lawman; assigned to maintain the Prince's laws and preserve order in the city. * All Night Society: Kindred society * The Danse Macabre: The interweaving Requiems of all vampires. Often used to describe the web of politics and conflict that those Requiems create. * Disciplines: The preternatural abilities and edges the Kindred possess, allowing them to vanish, turn into animals, and perform myriad other inhuman feats. * Camarilla '''(CAM • er • ill • uh): The earliest commonly believed-in Kindred state to stretch across vast areas of the world. The Camarilla governed during approximately the same span of time, and over approximately the same parts of the world, as the mortal Roman republic and empire. * '''Carthian Movement (KAR • thee • enn movement): A group of vampiric idealists, who believe in reconciling the Requiem with the political ideas of modern mortals. * Circle of the Crone: Covenant of ritualistic Kindred who revere pagan gods, spirits, pantheons and/or progenitors. * Invictus '''(in • VICK • tuss): A covenant of vampires who are determined to protect the Masquerade, while at the same time enjoying their Requiems as the elite among the dead. * '''Ordo Dracul (OR • dough drah • KOOL): A covenant of vampires known for its mystic studies and desire to transcend the vampiric curse. * Lancea et Sanctum (LAN • kay • uh ET SANK • toom): A covenant of vampires who honor the Roman centurion Longinus, whom they have adopted as a form of “patron saint” for the act of testing Christ’s divinity. * 'VII '(SEVEN): Apparently a clan, covenant, or other group of vampires that detests the Kindred and seeks to destroy them, its own members excepted. Carthian Law (KAR • thee • enn law): The ability of the Carthian Movement to back up Kindred law with mystic force. Coils of the Dragon: A mystic way of learning that allows vampires to avoid or exploit aspects of their curse, as practiced by the Ordo Dracul. Crúac (KREW • ack): The bloody, witchcraft-like magic practiced by the Circle of the Crone. Theban (THEE • ben) Sorcery: A mysterious form of blood magic practiced primarily by members of the Lancea et Sanctum. herd: A collection of mortals from whom a vampire feeds regularly. Kindred: kine: A term for mortals; the phrase “Kindred and kine” refers to everyone. Kiss: The act of biting and taking blood from a mortal, as well as the pleasure it provides both participants. Lick: A faintly vulgar term for a vampire. The Masquerade: The efforts required to hide Kindred from the mortal world. Perversion: The act of two Kindred drinking each other’s blood. Requiem: The Kindred condition; the whole miserable, cursed song of a vampire’s unlife, singularly or metaphorically. Traditions: The three primary Kindred laws, passed down through the ages and rooted in the Kindred condition. vessel: Any source of blood for the Kindred to feed on; usually but not always used to refer to a mortal. * Vitae (VIE • tay): The blood of a vampire.